


On and on

by adastra615



Category: Lupin III
Genre: /I didn't know the direction this was going at first and it took on some weird existential dread, Blood and Injury, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, I tried some banter, M/M, Present Tense, Violence, i think i failed, present tense fuckery, sorry it got really weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 18:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13793607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adastra615/pseuds/adastra615
Summary: Lupin and Jigen and a shootout.





	On and on

Flecks of something wet hit Lupin’s cheek as he turns. His right leg slides outwards as he tries to catch himself. He presses himself against the wall as bullets streak across the open space and turns trying to find Jigen. There's blood. He ducks - a bullet slams into the wall just above his head.

"Damn it,” he hisses through his bruised jaw. He'd cracked a tooth earlier trying to push his way out of the bar, pulling on Jigen's sleeve, trying to draw him outside - even as he raised his gun and pointed it around, spitting fire and all the fun had gone out of  them and the place and the people.

He ducks lower, his back against a brick wall, a beat up red Lancia that’s situated in front of him taking the brunt of the attack - bullets ping off the car’s metal frame. And then the sound of the blood pounding behind his ears is obliterated as he hears the returning fire from Jigen's gun. It's a sound he's so accustomed to - like a voice almost. He tries to follow it, ducks down low, plants himself against the car.

There’s a scream from above. Of course Jigen wouldn't have any problem – he’s a crack shot even if he is injured.

How to get to the alley without getting shot himself? He could just dive for it, he supposes, but the street has gone incredibly quiet and he can’t decide if it's because the men pursuing them have been taken out or if they're biding their time. Given how persistent and numerous they'd been though, he doubts they would back down so easily.

"Jigen," he tries to hiss, but there's no reply. _How badly is he injured?_ he wonders, looking at the splatters of blood on the sidewalk. He’d been able to move, but adrenaline makes you strong, still with the blood loss he’s managed to shoot straight - hopefully it isn’t too bad then.

 _Great,_ he's been wanting to get Jigen home and into bed and not in the nursing sense. That isn’t a kink he subscribes to.

He doesn't hear it, just feels the thud of it in his bones and he's staring at the wall gasping for breath. He's hit his head against the pavement is all he can think for a moment. He's tripped like some idiot, but then reality catches up, and he knows the feeling - the blooming warmth somewhere in his thigh and he grits his teeth, tries to pull himself back to the protection of the car. He gets one leg under him, manages to hop upwards and then the next bullet whizzes by his ear. He yelps as the third one lodges in his shoulder. He tries to bite back the scream and it catches somewhere in his throat, a low guttural whine making its way out. He clutches at the wound, trying to draw his faculties together. Where are they shooting from? Where's Jigen? He hears the resounding fire of his gun over the ringing in his ears, and Lupin sinks low against the car.

He thinks the bullet clipped the bone in his shoulder. He feels for an exit wound, but his heads spinning and his fingers are already red with so much blood.

Someone yells above him, "Lupin."

 _Jigen,_ he thinks, and he tries to hobble upwards, reaching for his own gun, his right arm mostly useless and he aims with the left, trying to use the car mirror to see behind him. He can't see a thing and his vison is ballooning outwards - expanding and contracting with each breath. Blood runs down his arm and drips from his fingers. The wound to his thigh pulses - a deep ache in the muscle. Judging from the slow trickle of blood, the bullet is blocking the majority of the blood flow. He's starting to go into shock, his body growing cold, trying to shut down, trying to protect him from any more blood loss, from more trauma, and then suddenly Jigen is there by his side, wrapping an arm around his uninjured shoulder and drawing him down through the alley and back out the other side where they’d left the Fiat. He opens the door puts Lupin in, in much too kind of a manner.

"I'm not dying,” he manages to hiss. "You don't have to treat me like I'm that fragile,” but his voice comes out sounding wrong in his ears, and he leans his head back against the headrest, closes his eyes.

Jigen’s shaking him while simultaneously trying to pull the keys out of his pant’s pocket.

"Oooh, I like this," he says, “but maybe it’s even a little kinky for me.” He notices the blood flowing from the wound to his leg, soaking through the fabric.

"Stay low, boss." Jigen says.

"S'don't have to call me boss, Jigen," he says and slips lower until his head his leaning against Jigen's side.

"Okay, okay," and then the car rumbles to life and Lupin slips farther until his cheek is against Jigen's thigh, and he closes his eyes, feels the bumps of the road though barely, the tires shifting against the asphalt, and he doesn’t even know if they're moving, because he's floating somewhere undefined, and he feels Jigen's hand against his shoulder, running through his hair. He's saying something, but all he feels are the reverberations of the words against the back of his neck in Jigen's rough chain-smoker voice. But it’s a voice he loves.

He's so horribly cold except for the parts of him that are touching Jigen. Maybe he needs a cigarette, maybe this is some weird withdrawal - the thought floats up like smoke.  He can smell it though, and he tries to tilt his head to see the cherry of the cigarette hanging from Jigen's mouth.

 "Hey," Jigen says and looks down, his hands on the steering wheel.  It wasn’t something you would normally notice, only because Lupin knows him so well and maybe it’s the angle he’s laying at, but Jigen’s knuckles are white against the steering wheel, probably because he doesn’t want Lupin to see his hands shaking- that means something, he thinks hazily, but his addled brain can only paw at the thought and not bring it to fruition.

There's blood on Jigen's hands. _Whos?_ he wonders. _Mine or his or both_ , and he giggles a little, not knowing why really but the situation is just so grim, and there's nothing but the sound of the road - it could be any road anywhere:  the countless times they’ve travelled like this - well not exactly like this - but someone nursing an injury, the thrill of an adrenaline high, the thought that whatever they were chasing was so close. And yet now, there's little of that, or he can't feel it anymore - only this languid feeling of unease that seems to stretch as far as the ocean that is always inevitably to their right; always waiting to greet them again.

He reaches up. Jigen takes the hint and puts the cigarette in his hand, and he struggles to sit up, groaning with the effort, his whole body feeling like one large bruise. He rolls the window down, feeling haggard and somehow way to old and it's probably the few days of no sleep compounding the injuries.

"Back in the world of the living?" Jigen asks, and Lupin sighs, pulls on the cigarette. The smoke slithers down into his lungs.

"Yeah, I think so," he says. "Did they get you too?" he asks.

Jigen shrugs, “Not too bad. Nothing that can’t' be fixed up when we get back to the cabin.”

They'd been crashing at a small cabin up amongst the grapevines and forgotten vineyards - the vines wrapping themselves about the cliff face.

"I feel pretty weird, though.”

"That's what happens when you have two slugs in you."

"I haven’t been shot in a long time. Can’t say I missed it."

"Not one of my favorites either." Jigen says and shrugs reaching across for the cigarette. Lupin relinquishes it begrudgingly.

"What? You have your own pack."

"Dropped it," Lupin says. "I think when I was being shot."

"Don't look at me. You got us into this mess. I was hoping for a relaxing evening, not having to shoot up half a town and almost see my boss get murdered."

"Hey! I'm not murdered. As you can see I'm as vivacious as ever." Lupin says and tries to grin. The wince that follows breaks the illusion as he tries to settle back against the seat. "It's the shoulder that really hurts.

Jigen looked over. "Didn't pass through, probably lodged in the bone or the muscle.”

So that's what he'd been doing when he ran his hand over his shoulder, checking for damage, trying to figure out just how bad of shape he was in, and yet how hurt was Jigen? He can’t see any visible wound, but he _is_ sitting kind of strangely, leaning more to one side than the other, and there is a gloss of sweat on his forehead. How had he not noticed before?

"Jigen."

“What?

“How bad is it?"

"I think you’ll live."

"You know what I'm talking about.”

Jigen’s neutral expression ticks just a bit downwards. "I'm fine Lupin."

"The hell you are."

 "Stop worrying about me. We’re almost to the cabin, anyways."

“This isn’t the evening I wanted to spend with you. I thought he'd have the gold, and then I'd have you all to myself.”

“Things rarely go how how he want,” Jigen says with a small huff of air.

 

He lulls off again because now the car is stopped  in front of the cabin. Lupin's breath catches in his throat when he see Jigen: his face is so pale and he’s breathing heavily.

"Jigen" he says.

But he doesn’t look towards him, his fingers are still hooked around the steering wheel.

"Jigen."

Jigen reaches to open the car door and as he stands, Lupin sees what's happaned, the whole left  side of his undershirt is covered in the blood.

“Damn it," he barely manages, before Jigen slouches forward hitting the dirt.

 Lupin’s across the seat and sliding out the door, not even feeling his injuries, as he crouches down.

 "Jigen," he says. _Shit. This isn’t good._ How had he been so oblivious? He does his best to pull him upwards, so that his head is lulling against his shoulder.

 "Huh?" Jigen says and Lupin jumps.

"You asshole, why did you lie? I knew something was wrong with you. Now you're going to bleed out and leave me here all alone. This isn’t what we do, Jigen. You know that. We die together or not at all.”

  "Well you don't look so great yourself."

"Look, I didn’t mean for the first one to even be an option. Come on old man let's get you inside.

"Not old.”

 “Yeah, prove me wrong then.”

 "Hey! I'm not old,” he shifts, tries to stand and then they’re both in the dirt. Strange laughter catches in Lupin's throat as he tries to hull them back upwards, but he’s so tired and the ache in his bones has spread through the rest of him.

 

The room of the cabin is spinning. The floor incongruous with his notion of how floors work and physics seems to be deserting him. Each breath brings stars that seem to fill the peripheral of his vision.     

He almost stumbles, Jigen hanging onto his side, one long arm wrapped around his middle as he tries to stay upright. They fall onto the couch. For a moment the world is a buzz of blackness. The room slowly filters through. His heartbeat is pounding fast and hard in his neck, but Jigen is laying much too still, his head against his uninjured leg. The room is humid, the air stale and unmoving.

 They haven't played this variety of the game in a while, the one where they're both suffering, full of bullets. Usually its one or the other, it's rare when it's both of them, and he doesn’t know who’s meant  to take care of who in this situation, but Jigen's barely moving, and he figures a bullet to the side is much worse to a bullet to the leg and shoulder. The fact that’s he’s not profusely bleeding out is the sign it's up to him. “

 “Jigen," he says, trying to get the older man to catch his eye, he's rewarded with a low growl and something unintelligible. _Good, he’s still conscious,_ he thinks as he stumble upwards, falling back against the couch with a hiss of pain. His leg doesn't want to support his weight, but he manages to stand and hobble towards the bathroom. He has no idea what's here. They broke in last night and he hasn’t taken much time to check out the medicine cabinet. There’s a few supplies in the car that he can retrieve if need be.

He flicks on the light. A low monotonous hum fills the small room. The glass is steamed up with the humidity and his bloody fingers leave smears of blood against it as he fumbles to open it. There's some painkillers, a few ace bandages, nothing he sees that would help him dig out a bullet. His vision continues to waver as he stands there staring at the contents, suddenly feeling so tired he can barely focus. He grabs the painkillers, pops four in his mouth and turns on the tap. The cool water rushes down his throat. He's always had a fast metabolism so they should hit him pretty quickly. He grabs a glass he finds under the sink and fills it with water and stumbles back into the living area.

He knows they’ll live. This is how it always goes.

Jigen has moved a bit, curled in on himself. Lupin knows the pain must be pretty bad, there's a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His left hand is balled in a fist, his right pressing down against the wound.

“Here take a few of these, it 'll help.”

 He helps him sit up and hands him the glass with a few pain killers. He manages to get them down. Lupin can feel the heat radiating off of him.

"They’re out there,” Jigen says, and Lupin thinks he must be hallucinating.  But he barely has a moment to register that he _does_ hear somethings, and the glass is exploding inwards toward them, littering the little cabin with broken wood and shards of glass. Some reserve of adrenaline takes over and he pulls both of them to the ground near the small coffee table that’s in front of the couch. He reaches for his gun, pulls himself against the wall.

"They're persistent," he says through gritted teeth. He can see one of their cars idling in the front. Somehow Jigen pulls himself over to the other side of the window, looking a little bit unfocused but his gun in his hand. Lupin see's the flash of movment, but Jigen's still so fast, he barely has a chance to see the outline of someone moving, but Jigen shoots in that direction. There’s a cry of pain from outside. Jigen ducks as a bullet flies through the window lodging in the wall opposite.

“I think there's three more,” he hisses. “We have to get to the car, get out of here.” The door handle rattles and Lupin can’t remember locking it behind him, but it must have been instinctual.

"You think you can make it?"

"If you can."

"I’ve had worse."

“Can you see them?”

“They're hiding.” Blood drips from Jigen's side, making a small pool where he’s crouched.

Lupin can feel the blood oozing under his suit jacket. He can barely crouch with the bullet in his leg, let alone run very well. If they’re going to make a run for it, the chance he stands of making it unscathed seems slim.

Jigen has his hand planted on the wall, as if maybe that’s the only thing keeping him upright.

"I know where they are. Two are behind the car, the other one’s on the side of the cabin.” Jigen says.

 “If we can take them out, we should be able to make it the Fiat and get the hell out of here.”

"It's a great plan," Jigen says grimacing.

 "Well what do you propose?”

“I propose starting this day over and not pissing off a bar full of crazy gun wielding Sicilians.”

 "Well it's little late for that now."

“Hmmm. Fine, look you just need to take out the one. I'm making it easy on you. I'll get the two behind the car, but we need to move before they do.”

They crawl towards the door, staying low and out of the open view of the window. Jigen holds his side and winces.

“I’ll open the door. You take him out. He's right around the corner. I could see his shadow. I’ll get the two behind the car. If you miss just run for the Fiat.”

Lupin nods.

Jigen throws open the door, and for the briefest moment the beauty of the landscape filters in - the hills encrusted in flowers - the sunlight falling through the open door glinting off the puddles of blood.

 Jigen moves so fast. Lupin’s on his heels, turning quickly, catching the Mediterranean sun glinting off the steel of the gun. He fires, the recoil working its way through his sore muscles. The man hiding behind the cabin gives a shriek and falls back clutching the bloody stumps of his fingers. Lupin hears two shots behind him as he reaches the side of the Fiat opening the door and slipping in. The seat is covered in blood.

 A third shot echoes and he sees the man holding his bloody fingers slump forward into the grass. He waits breathing heavily, the gun warm in his hand. He twists in his seat, the car hotter than the cabin and then the fiat’s door rattles and Jigen pulls himself in. "Got em,'” he says loosely, hoarsely, his head slumping forward a bit, as he struggles to catch his breath. Blood now saturating the whole front of his shirt. "This is the worst vacation we've ever had,” he manages to say.

"Agreed. Here let's switch. I’ll drive. It's your turn to bleed out in the passenger seat.”

 Jigen gives a horribly crooked smile. “I think this seat's just fine.” He lights a cigarette and closes his eyes and leans his head back, repositioning his hat that he'd somehow still managed to hold onto.

This is how they would go on, Lupin thinks.

 Jigen's breathing slows as the adrenaline fades away.

The ache in Lupin’s bones is so deep, he thinks he could sleep for years.

There’s an eternity to their lives he thinks that they will never escape, and he can’t say he’s upset by it, only on the days where there’s blood and bullets, and little treasure and no sex, does he really wish there was some foreseeable end.

Jigen smokes the cigarette like he has a thousand times before and Lupin reaches across and takes it from him. "Hey," he says, but doesn’t do anything to stop him.

"Don't you know these will kill you?" Lupin asks.

 Jigen gives a hoarse laugh and starts the car.

**Author's Note:**

> Woah guys this is my first time writing Lupin fic, but I absolutely love this little fandom. I've been wanting to join in on the all the crazy Lupin shenanigans, but didn't really have a direction for a story. But I guess this is what happens when I don't have a particular destination in mind. Hope if you made it this far you found something to like. Thanks for reading!


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